Writing to heal, grow, and inspire.

Hallways

This morning when I arrived at my office building, I saw a student crying into her cell phone in the hallway. Another student, whom I knew, was comforting her. Since I knew the crying woman was in good hands, I passed by without saying a word, nodded to the woman I knew, and climbed another flight of stairs. When I reached the third floor, I saw a colleague hovering in the hallway. He’s not someone I know well, him being a VIP and me being a lowly in the trenches gal. But he seemed to be waiting for me. He knew I saw her, too.

“There’s a girl crying downstairs.”

I nodded. “I know the student she’s with. She’s in good hands.”

“She’ll be okay?”

“Yes.”

We went our separate ways. Later that day, in the hallway on the second floor, I saw a man who looked to be in his late sixties. He was dressed in a suit, wandering around, lost. I wanted to ignore him, but I couldn’t.

“Can I help you find something?”

“Yes,” he said. “I need to speak to an advisor. My daughter was admitted here, but she couldn’t make the Open House. I’m on my way to visit her at prep school. I thought I’d stop by and talk to someone about your Learning Communities.”

The only prep school I knew of in the area was about an hour away, exclusive, expensive. He looked quite old to have a daughter who was a high school senior. We made small talk while I walked him to the appropriate office. When we arrived, he shook my hand, thanked me for my help. We went our separate ways.

As I was preparing to leave work that same day, I left my office suite to get a glass of water from the fountain. A young man was seated at a table in the hallway, looking at his laptop and wiping his eyes with a paper towel. It took me a moment to realize that he was crying. It’s so seldom one sees men cry. I hesitated, but in the end I knew I couldn’t just walk by and ignore him.

“Are you okay? Can I help?”

“My friend just died.”

He went on to explain that it was a girl he’d grown up with. He showed me her photo on Facebook. She was smiling, and so young. Her beautiful soul radiated out of the computer screen. She wore a silky scarf over her head.

“She had cancer?” I asked.

He nodded.

I placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry. Do you want to talk? My office is right over there.”

He shook his head. “No, thank you. She’d be mad if she saw me crying.”

We spoke for another minute, then I left him alone with his grief.

What is a hallway but a passage from one place to the next?

Husbands and wives, mothers and sons, fathers and daughters pass each other in hallways without saying a word.

When I was a child, after my parents divorced and I had teenaged babysitters all the time, the neighborhood kids used to come over and play hide and seek in my house at night. With all the lights out, no one ever found me when I climbed up the hallway walls, one foot and one hand on each wall, until I was near the ceiling. In that same house, I used to have dreams that I was flying down the hallway, about a foot off the ground, and I could see everything that was happening, and that had ever happened, in that house.

Wow, Kim, this was so powerful! Sometimes when we see someone in trouble, we need to step in and offer help. Other times, we may see that the person is already being helped by someone who knows them better than we do, and then keeping our distance is the right thing. But what we saw still sticks with us…. Thanks for taking the time to care for all the people in your “hallways!”

I’ve been so busy and had such blogger’s block, but that day was so strange, especially how it began and ended with the students’ crying, that I felt inspired to write. And yes, it’s important that we take time to care for others, even if they are strangers. The Golden Rule thing.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I haven’t blogged for a while, it takes me a while to get back into the rhythm of it. Just write about what interests you. You are a very good writer, and whatever you come up with will be worth reading. Trust me on that one!

Thanks, Kathy! Not sure for how long. I’ll be away almost the entire month of May. A week in Florida visiting my oldest son, and then two weeks in Prague with a group of students studying abroad! Hope all is well.

Thank you! Keep emailing, too. I hope it wasn’t me who was supposed to reply last time. Time ran away from me – went to an out of state conference for work, an out of state wedding, and lots of evening awards ceremonies and such for students at work. Plus volunteered to write the thank you letters for this huge gala event at my son’s school – what a project that was!

That was some day you had just in the hallways. Makes me wonder how many people I’ve passed who were suffering or had questions that they hoped someone answered and I never knew about it or took the time to ask. I’ll be much more aware in the future. Enjoy your trips this month!

Yes it was, George. I kind of feel like a higher power was working through me that day. Have you ever had days/moments like that? I am thrilled to be traveling so much in May. Will miss my husband and boys at home, but am visiting my eldest son in Florida, and can’t pass up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to Prague. Thanks for reading and commenting!